Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
